MINOR V.

HAPPERSETT
Kara Kregel & Dedra Moore

LIFE OF WOMEN IN THE 1800S

o Back in the 1800s women did not have the same amount of rights allotted to us now
o Women did not have a voice growing up they were expected obedient and listen to the fathers and as soon as they were old enough to marry and leave the house they were expected to be obedient and dependent on their husbands. o Women had the basic role of cooking, cleaning, and taking care of children along with the husband.

BACKGROUND
o Married women had no property rights o Could not hold a job within the government o Were not allowed to go to college o Not allowed to divorce or leave their husbands o Most custody laws were in the mens favor o Were not allowed to vote o Had to follow laws they had no hand in making

THE BEGINNING
o The civil rights movement helped women realize how oppressed they were and was the beginning of the womens rights movement

o A big aspect in this movement was fighting for womens suffrage which is giving women the right to vote

WOMENS SUFFRAGE
o Organizations such as the National Womans Suffrage Association (NWSA) founded by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cody and the American Womans Suffrage Association (AWSA) founded by Lucy Stone were created. o These organizations were created to speak out and push for the right to vote

THE ANTI-SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT

Virginia Louisa Minor

March 27, 1824 to August 14, 1894

o Married a distant cousin Francis Minor o Born in Virginia & moved to Missouri after she married o Husband was a lawyer that represented her in her case against Happersett o During the Civil War she was an active member of the St. Louis Union Aid Society o Was the first President of the American Women Suffrage Association o Was the honorary Vice President of the Interstate Womens Suffrage Convention

OCTOBER 15TH 1872

Virginia Minor attempted to register to vote in St. Louis County Missouri. The Registrar Reese Happersett refused her application on the grounds that she was a woman and did not have the right to vote.

ALL PERSONS BORN OR NATURALIZED IN THE UNITED STATES, AND SUBJECT TO THE JURISDICTION THEREOF, ARE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES AND OF THE STATE WHEREIN THEY RESIDE. NO STATE SHALL MAKE OR ENFORCE ANY LAW WHICH SHALL ABRIDGE THE PRIVILEGES OR IMMUNITIES OF CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES; NOR SHALL ANY STATE DEPRIVE ANY PERSON OF LIFE, LIBERTY, OR PROPERTY, WITHOUT DUE PROCESS OF LAW; NOR DENY TO ANY PERSON WITHIN ITS JURISDICTION THE EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAWS. -THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT SECTION 1
Minor argued that because she was a citizen she was guaranteed the right to vote under the 14th Amendment Section 1

MISSOURI STATE SUPREME COURT

The Missouri State Supreme Court ruled in favor of Happersett and against Minor. They observed that it was almost a universal practice of the states to limit voting to men, and that Section 2 of the 14th Amendment explicitly gave males the right to vote.

UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT

The Case was presided over by Chief Justice Morrison Waite, and Justices Nathan Clifford, Noah H. Swayne, Samuel F. Miller, David Davis, Stephen J. Field, William Strong, Joseph P. Bradley, & Ward Hunt. Minor made the same argument that she had made to the previous courts. Stating There can be no half-way citizenship. Women, as a citizens of the United States, are entitled to all the benefits of that position, and liable to all its obligations, or to none. The State of Missouri did not send counsel, instead sending a simple three sentence explanation to justify its decision.

PROVINCE IS TO DECIDE WHAT THE LAW IS, OUR NOT TO DECLARE WHAT IT SHOULD BE. IF THE LAW IS WRONG, IT OUGHT TO BE CHANGED; BUT THE POWER FOR THAT IS NOT WITH US. CHIEF JUSTICE WAITE

THE RULING

The Court unanimously decided that even though Minor was undoubtedly a citizen, the Constitution did not explicitly give citizens a right to vote and that, throughout the history of the nation from the adoption of the Constitution, a wide variety of personsincluding womenwere recognized as citizens but denied the right to vote.

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
Following this ruling the Womens Suffrage Movement gained steam. The protesters switched their strategy from trying to gain the favor of the courts to attempting to pass new laws entirely. In 1920 the 19th Amendment was ratified. It stated The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. This overturned the courts decision in Minor V Happersett.

FOLLOWING CASES
The 19th Amendment was held up in the case Leser v. Garnett when two women registered to vote in Baltimore MD two months after the ratification of the 19th Amendment on the federal level, but before Maryland had ratified the Amendment. The courts ruled to uphold the 19th Amendment and they were allowed to vote.

http://youtu.be/pFOieRHRzh8